Republicans' opinion of Roberts drops after high court ruling on ObamaCare

Chief Justice John Roberts. (AP)

Republicans’ opinion of Supreme Court Justice John Robert has dropped by 40 percentage points since 2005, according to a Gallup poll taken after he ruled in favor of upholding most of President Obama’s health care law.

The rating among Republicans went from 67 percent to 27 percent over the seven-year period.

Roberts, appointed by President George W. Bush, joined four Democratic appointees on the high court in the June 28 majority decision. His favorable rating among Democrats increased by 19 percentage points over the period, according to the July 9-12 poll released Monday.

Gallup officials said this was the first such poll on Roberts since 2005, but “it is a reasonable assumption that a good deal of the shift in attitudes occurred” as a result of the court’s majority decision that was written by Roberts.

Roberts was nominated by Bush and confirmed by the Senate 2005. He is considered a conservative jurist.

Adult Americans overall have a more negative opinion of Roberts than they did in 2005 – from 50 percent to 39 percent, according to the poll.

Their opinion of the entire Supreme Court remains unchanged at 46 percent, but Republicans took a more negative view of the court after its 5-4 ruling on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010.

The poll results were based on phone interviews with 1,014 adults across the country, with an estimated margin of error of 4 percentage points, according to Gallup.